The initial, mobile stage of the fighting quickly deteriorated into static trench warfare.
The original Anzacs head off in convoy from Albany, Western Australia, on 1 November 1914. The New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the largest body of men to ever leave New Zealand, had rendezvoused with the Australian Imperial Force in Albany before heading off to Egypt and then Gallipoli. ( AWM PHOTO P00252.002 )
The opening days triggered a flurry of minor conflicts around the world as Britain’s allies moved against nearby German territories. On 19 August, Colonel William Holmes led the newly formed Australian Naval and Military Expedition Force (AN&MF) to Palm Island, off the Queensland coast, where it trained for three weeks. On 11 September, the force sailed to Rabaul, the capital of German New Guinea, where it captured the radio station two days later and subdued the colony. Elsewhere in the Pacific, New Zealand occupied Samoa on 30 August. By December, all the German outposts in the region had been occupied or subdued.
On 1 November 1914, a convoy of 38 ships sailed from Western Australia taking the 1st Australian Division and a Light Horse Brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (the AIF), together with a New Zealand infantry brigade and mounted rifle brigade. After some indecision about its final destination, it landed at Alexandria in Egypt on 3 December, where the Australians met their new British commander, Lieutenant General William Birdwood. Birdwood combined the force with subsequent arrivals from Australia and New Zealand to create an Army Corps, comprising two infantry divisions and one mounted division. It would go on to win fame under the acronym, ANZAC (the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps).
At about this time the German fleet was trapped at Tsingtao after Japan agreed to Britain’s request to capture the port in what would prove a turning point for Japan’s international aspirations and a harbinger of Pearl Harbor 27 years later. Although a combined force of 60,000 Japanese and 2000 British troops overcame the 4500-strong German garrison at Tsingtao, the German fleet escaped and scattered. Its massive battle cruisers roamed the world’s sea lanes causing havoc and threatening Britain’s supply lines until the Emden met its fate at the hands of the HMAS Sydney, which had broken off from the Anzac convoy, off the Cocos Islands on 9 November. The German Admiral Graf von Spee went down with his flagship and five others near the Falkland Islands.
In Europe, meanwhile, the 100,000-strong British Expeditionary Force landed in France, and by 21 August it had moved alongside the French 5th Army to defend the Belgian city of Mons, near the French border. Three days later, 280,000 Germans launched themselves against 70,000 British. Overwhelmed, the British and French defenders were forced to retreat in a nightmare march back to the Channel.
In this early, mobile, period of the war the Germans made good progress and by the beginning of September they were just 45 kilometres from Paris. The French government abandoned its capital and moved to Bordeaux and a million Parisians fled westward. However, the German High Command realised that its advance was outstripping its supply lines.
This was particularly difficult to remedy when its main form of transport was horse-drawn vehicles. Indeed, this period saw the start of the transition from ancient to modern forms of warfare: cavalry with lances was still a major player; many troops still wore gaudy parade-ground uniforms into battle making them stand-out targets; and tin helmets hadn’t been introduced. At the same time, artillery was being developed at an astonishing pace and some guns were already able to fire massive projectiles. Aerial observation was expanding, with balloons and slow-moving bi-planes acting as reconnaissance sources and, increasingly, as deliverers of bombs.
The first of many massive set-piece battles began on 5 September 1914. The Battle of
The original Anzacs head off in convoy from Albany, Western Australia, on 1 November 1914. The New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the largest body of men to ever leave New Zealand, had rendezvoused with the Australian Imperial Force in Albany before heading off to Egypt and then Gallipoli. ( AWM PHOTO P00252.002 )
The opening days triggered a flurry of minor conflicts around the world as Britain’s allies moved against nearby German territories. On 19 August, Colonel William Holmes led the newly formed Australian Naval and Military Expedition Force (AN&MF) to Palm Island, off the Queensland coast, where it trained for three weeks. On 11 September, the force sailed to Rabaul, the capital of German New Guinea, where it captured the radio station two days later and subdued the colony. Elsewhere in the Pacific, New Zealand occupied Samoa on 30 August. By December, all the German outposts in the region had been occupied or subdued.
On 1 November 1914, a convoy of 38 ships sailed from Western Australia taking the 1st Australian Division and a Light Horse Brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (the AIF), together with a New Zealand infantry brigade and mounted rifle brigade. After some indecision about its final destination, it landed at Alexandria in Egypt on 3 December, where the Australians met their new British commander, Lieutenant General William Birdwood. Birdwood combined the force with subsequent arrivals from Australia and New Zealand to create an Army Corps, comprising two infantry divisions and one mounted division. It would go on to win fame under the acronym, ANZAC (the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps).
At about this time the German fleet was trapped at Tsingtao after Japan agreed to Britain’s request to capture the port in what would prove a turning point for Japan’s international aspirations and a harbinger of Pearl Harbor 27 years later. Although a combined force of 60,000 Japanese and 2000 British troops overcame the 4500-strong German garrison at Tsingtao, the German fleet escaped and scattered. Its massive battle cruisers roamed the world’s sea lanes causing havoc and threatening Britain’s supply lines until the Emden met its fate at the hands of the HMAS Sydney, which had broken off from the Anzac convoy, off the Cocos Islands on 9 November. The German Admiral Graf von Spee went down with his flagship and five others near the Falkland Islands.
In Europe, meanwhile, the 100,000-strong British Expeditionary Force landed in France, and by 21 August it had moved alongside the French 5th Army to defend the Belgian city of Mons, near the French border. Three days later, 280,000 Germans launched themselves against 70,000 British. Overwhelmed, the British and French defenders were forced to retreat in a nightmare march back to the Channel.
In this early, mobile, period of the war the Germans made good progress and by the beginning of September they were just 45 kilometres from Paris. The French government abandoned its capital and moved to Bordeaux and a million Parisians fled westward. However, the German High Command realised that its advance was outstripping its supply lines.
This was particularly difficult to remedy when its main form of transport was horse-drawn vehicles. Indeed, this period saw the start of the transition from ancient to modern forms of warfare: cavalry with lances was still a major player; many troops still wore gaudy parade-ground uniforms into battle making them stand-out targets; and tin helmets hadn’t been introduced. At the same time, artillery was being developed at an astonishing pace and some guns were already able to fire massive projectiles. Aerial observation was expanding, with balloons and slow-moving bi-planes acting as reconnaissance sources and, increasingly, as deliverers of bombs.
The first of many massive set-piece battles began on 5 September 1914. The Battle of
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